Talk Commerce

Hosted by Brent W. Peterson

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Episodes

442

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Aug 2026

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About the show

If you are seeking new ways to increase your ROI on marketing with your commerce platform, or you may be an entrepreneur who wants to grow your team and be more efficient with your online business. Talk Commerce with Brent W. Peterson draws stories from merchants, marketers, and entrepreneurs who share their experiences in the trenches to help you learn what works and what may not in your business. Keep up with the current news on commerce platforms, marketing trends, and what is new in the entrepreneurial world. Episodes drop every Tuesday with the occasional bonus episodes. You can check out our daily blog post and signup for our newsletter here https://talk-commerce.com

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60 recent

August 25, 202621 min

Business Complexity Does Not Go Away with Mike Heilig of Binary Anvil

Mike Heilig is the general manager at Binary Anvil, a web development agency and systems integrator that has been running for 18 years, built mostly on Adobe Commerce, and has since branched into other platforms and a product of its own. He takes on the SaaS promise directly. Moving to SaaS genuinely removes the hosting and patching burden, and then relocates the difficulty rather than deleting it, because business complexity does not go away. His fit test is simple. A very simple business may belong on SaaS. B2B requirements, complex catalogs and complex price lists probably do not. The mistake he sees merchants make is shopping for technology before writing down the business outcome they want. The conversation turns to Flux, Binary Anvil's React and Next.js headless front end that attaches to an Adobe Commerce backend and supports B2C and B2B out of the box. For D&B Supply, a large farm and ranch retailer, rebuilding on Flux while keeping the Adobe Commerce backend moved site speed, conversions, organic traffic and search rankings, and cut roughly 57,000 dollars a year off upgrade cost. Heilig explains why decoupling the front end is what makes upgrades cheap, and credits Adobe for maintaining old APIs instead of deprecating them. On AI mediated commerce he is patient rather than breathless. Structured data, machine readable documentation and clean APIs are the groundwork, the requirement is on the horizon rather than here, and the open question is whether shoppers are ready to hand a credit card to an agent at all. Guest: Mike Heilig, General Manager, Binary Anvil

August 24, 202610 min

Jamloop's 70-30 Blueprint Puts Streaming TV at the Center of the Media Plan

Leif Welch named his company after a music startup that failed inside a year, and he kept the name through the rebuild anyway, because the idea sitting underneath it, connecting buyers and sellers with more transparency than either of them was used to, had always been the part worth keeping. The first Jamloop was a marketplace for musicians to find new and used gear, with a social network for local players attached to it. Jamloop is now a platform for brands and their agencies to advertise on streaming television. Welch describes it as a Facebook or Google Ads style platform for the connected TV world, with an analytics layer that tracks store visits, website visits, purchases, and whether the campaign earned a real return on ad spend. Recorded on the eTail Boston floor ahead of his keynote, Welch previews the argument he is taking to the stage. Search and social are demand-capture channels running into saturation, and television has always been the thing that creates demand in the first place. He splits AI into two jobs, creative versioning and platform-level campaign operations, and closes with the 70-30 blueprint Jamloop is putting in front of advertisers now. Guest: Leif Welch, Founder and CEO, Jamloop Recorded live at eTail Boston, August 10 through 12, 2026. To learn more about our at-event interviews, go to talk-commerce.com/events

August 20, 2026Episode 4448 min

Money Maxing with Jeff Wender of Minty

Jeff Wender is Chief Revenue Officer at Minty. He opened with a term worth stealing: money maxing, which he describes as what shoppers have always done when costs are high and every dollar has to stretch further. The number underneath his pitch is the one merchants already know and mostly ignore. Roughly 5% of people who land on an ecommerce site buy something. The other 95% are in discovery, moving between sites and comparing, and the brand has no idea who they are. Minty works that 95%, using a permissioned database of over 450 million connected devices to identify those shoppers and put an incentive in front of them. On AI, Jeff refused to give an opinion and gave data instead. Minty's national holiday shopper survey found 78% of people expect to use AI in some form this holiday season, mostly for discovery rather than purchase. Their answer is Minty Promote, which syndicates a brand's products and incentives across the major LLMs so the brand is in the conversation when the recommendation gets made. Also covered: the Shopify app and where the instrumentation sits, the Minty Ads retail media layer, and why full funnel matters more than any single tactic. Chapters (00:05) Introductions at eTail Boston (00:14) Money maxing, and what it actually means (01:12) The 5% who buy and the 95% who do not (02:55) What Minty is hearing on the exhibit floor (04:19) The 78% AI holiday number, and Minty Promote (06:05) Minty App, Minty Ads, and what is next Recorded live at eTail Boston 2026.

August 19, 2026Episode 4436 min

Personalization Before the First Click with Sidd Motwani of Malachyte

Sidd Motwani, co-founder and CEO of Malachyte, on real-time personalization that starts before the first click. Malachyte builds a user vector, a numerical representation of each shopper's intent and preference, with no third-party cookies, no purchase history, and no sign-in required. Sidd and his co-founder built the user vector platform at Spotify, where it powers most of the application across music, podcasts, and audiobooks. In this conversation: What a user vector is and why it works cold, with no data about the shopper Personalizing from the referrer, device, time of day, and location before a first click The Spotify story, from one team's technology to the backbone of the app A free pilot for Shopify and Salesforce Commerce brands, with Malachyte doing the heavy lifting His agentic commerce take, agents and humans will both come to the store, and the store itself has to serve them proactively Chapters 00:00 eTail Boston and the data and AI track 01:19 What Malachyte does 02:04 The Spotify user vector story 02:52 Free pilot and the roadmap 05:02 Agentic commerce and proactivity Sidd Motwani: LinkedIn Malachyte: malachyte.com Recorded live at eTail Boston, August 10 through 12, 2026. To learn more about our at-event interviews, go to talk-commerce.com/events

August 18, 2026Episode 44222 min

Protecting Profitability in the Age of AI Shopping Agents with Jeff Otto of Riskified

Jeff Otto, CMO of Riskified, shares insights on how AI and machine learning are transforming e-commerce fraud prevention, enhancing customer experience, and protecting merchant profitability. Discover the latest innovations in identity verification, fraud detection, and the future of agentic commerce. key topics AI and machine learning in fraud detection Identity graph technology and cross-merchant fraud prevention Balancing fraud prevention with customer experience Emerging threats like deepfake and fake customer calls Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Riskified and Jeff Otto 02:01 The Evolution of Fraud Prevention in E-commerce 05:31 The Role of AI and Machine Learning in Fraud Detection 09:32 Challenges in Customer Service and Fraud Prevention 13:24 The Future of Agentic Commerce and AI Integration 17:15 Metrics and the Cost of Fraud for Merchants 20:54 Conclusion and Future Directions for Riskified

August 17, 2026Episode 4415 min

Why Health Nutrition Stopped Being a Niche Category with Catherine Hayden

Catherine Hayden, Chief Marketing Officer of Kate Farms, on why health nutrition is not a niche category. Six in ten Americans live with a chronic health condition. Catherine explains what that means for how Kate Farms markets, and what changes as the brand expands into 6,800 doors across Walmart and CVS. In this conversation: The "Here for the Champions" brand campaign and the insight behind it Why a new high protein shake flavor took 800 variations to get right Staying authentic while scaling into mass retail Where AI helps, and why the origin and the idea stay with the brand Using an AI chatbot for faster issue resolution, and aggregating reviews, social, and post purchase surveys to surface friction points weekly Chapters 00:00 Introduction and What Is New at Kate Farms 01:03 The Here for the Champions Campaign 01:54 Fireside Chat Preview 02:36 How Kate Farms Uses AI 04:15 Building Awareness and Closing Thoughts Catherine Hayden: LinkedIn Kate Farms: katefarms.com Recorded live at eTail Boston, August 10 through 12, 2026. To learn more about our at-event interviews, go to talk-commerce.com/events

August 11, 2026Episode 44021 min

Turning Marketing Into a Profit Control System with Cem Atik

Cem Atik, co-founder of Harucon-Ventures, shares insights on turning marketing into a profit control system, leveraging data and AI in e-commerce, and the importance of human creativity alongside AI. Discover practical strategies for data-driven decision making, optimizing unit economics, and the future of AI in marketing. key topics Turning marketing into a profit control system Leveraging data and AI in e-commerce Importance of unit economics in marketing Future trends of AI in marketing takeaways Tracking full control of unit economics is crucial for profitable marketing. AI is a powerful tool but requires human oversight and interpretation. Emotional messaging significantly improves ad performance. Benchmarking costs helps identify inefficiencies and optimize margins. AI should be used as a partner, not a replacement for human creativity. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Sam Atec and Harucon-Ventures 02:24 Transforming Marketing into a Profit Control System 09:00 The Role of AI in Marketing 11:42 Understanding Click-Through Rates and Emotional Marketing 19:38 Future Trends and the Importance of Human Creativity

August 4, 2026Episode 43922 min

Get Your Brand Noticed in AI Search with Danny Kirk of ReddiReach

Danny Kirk, founder of ReddiReach, shares insights on how Reddit and AI search optimization can boost brand visibility and influence search engine rankings. Discover practical strategies for leveraging Reddit data, understanding AI filtering, and preparing your brand for the future of AI-driven search and commerce. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpkirk/ key topics Reddit as a data source for AI and search Strategies for brand engagement on Reddit Impact of AI filtering and content quality Future trends in AI search and e-commerce Practical steps for SEO and brand visibility Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Danny Kirk and ReddiReach 01:53 The Power of Reddit in AI Search Optimization 09:25 Strategies for Brands on Reddit 13:56 Navigating Local SEO and E-commerce Challenges 18:24 Future Trends in AI and E-commerce

July 28, 2026Episode 43815 min

Automating Complex Ecommerce Workflows with Joseph Anderson of Connex Ecommerce

Joe Anderson, CEO of Connex eCommerce, shares insights on automating complex workflows in e-commerce, integrating legacy systems, and leveraging AI for smarter operations. Discover how tailored automation solutions can streamline your business processes and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. Key topics Complex workflows in eCommerce Legacy system integration challenges AI and automation in eCommerce Customizable data syncing and rules Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Connex eCommerce 01:56 The Journey of Automation in eCommerce 04:03 Challenges in Workflow Automation 07:17 Specialization vs Generalization in Integration 09:54 Client Profiles and Complex Workflows 10:50 The Role of AI in eCommerce Automation 12:00 Complex B2B Solutions and Client Needs 12:53 Future Trends in eCommerce and AI

July 21, 2026Episode 43742 min

AI Is Rewiring the eCommerce CFO Role with Matt Putra of eightX

Matt Putra, managing partner at 8X, shares insights on leveraging AI in e-commerce, the importance of organizational frameworks like EOS, and strategic financial management for growth and exit readiness. AI's impact on marketing and product development Using EOS to organize and prepare for exit Financial hygiene and data organization for acquisition Strategic use of AI in ad creation and testing Scaling and managing growth in consumer goods Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction 03:44 AI in Product Prototyping and Marketing Acceleration 07:10 Challenges and Limitations of AI in Content Creation 08:49 Role of 8X as Fractional CFOs and Data Management 11:11 Upstream Metrics and Data Organization for Growth 13:28 Using EOS for Business Operations and Exit Preparation 15:35 Case Study: Two Large Exits and Preparation Strategies 17:55 EOS and Strategic Frameworks for Large-Scale Growth 20:06 Financial Habits for Scaling to 8X and Beyond 21:49 Monitoring and Optimizing Conversion Funnels 23:25 The Future of AI in CFO and Financial Roles 26:03 Governance and Security in AI-Driven Financial Processes 28:45 Automation, Testing, and Human Oversight in AI Systems 32:44 Lessons from Metal Recycling and Business Resilience 36:36 Killing Underperforming SKUs and Product Management 39:22 Retail Strategies and Entry Points for Brands 41:50 Trends in Global Trade and Market Expansion 44:21 The Role of Research Content and AI 45:02 Soccer in Vancouver and Local Sports Culture 46:09 Contact and Closing Remarks